Photographic developing apparatus.



E. W. CALDWELL.

PHOTOGRAPHIC DEVELOPING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. I9. I9I4.

1 1 4: 1 ,3 1 4. Patented June 1, 1915.

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R 1 L IL WITNESSES INVENTOI? EUGENE w. CALDWELL, or saw loan,

PHOTOGBAPHIC DEVELOPI NG APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1, 1915.

continuation of application Serial No. 838A, filed Kay 14, 1914. Thisapplication filed December 19,

1914. Serial No. 878,010.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Eocene W. CALDWELL, a citizen of the United States,and resident of the city, county, and State of New York, have made acertain new and useful Invention Relating to Photographic DevelopingApparatus, of which the following is a specification, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing, which forms part of the sameand this application is a continuation of my co-pending application838,448, filed May it, 1914, containing similar subject-matter.

This invention relates especiall to apparatus for developing photograpic negatives and comprises frames of celluloid or other suitable toughinert material in which the negatives are disengagcably mounted so as tobe properly supported in the develop ing tanks and in the dryingapparatus and so forth.

The frames may comprise wide sides preferably at least several times asthick as the plates to be used and provided with holding devices or pinson their inner or adjacent faces and with suitable supports adjacent thebottom on which the plates rest, these sides being preferably connectedby spacing members or rods which to minimize shrinkage may be formed ofmetal which may be coated or covered with suitable inert material. Thetops and bottoms of the frames are also preferably given a suitabletapered or wedge shape, so that each of the frames can be more readilyinserted in tanks or the like and space itself therein-with reference tothe other frames without requiring the usual guide in the tanks.

In the accom anying in a somewhat iagrammatic way an illus trativeembodiment of this inventionFigure 1 is a side elevation of a frame;Fig. 2 is a transverse section thereof show' g a plate arranged in theframe. Fig. 3 is a small scale diagrammatic section showing a tank andframes therein; and Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse section through amodified side member.

The tank 1 of any suitable material may have the two supporting shelvesor ribs arranged therein and be supported by a shaft or rocking pivots 3so as to be oscillated during the -developing operation and cause thedesired agitation of the developer 4 in the tank. By having the axis ofoscilvantage be ma drawings showing' mounted during development may withad- 4 able inert tough material and mayprefer ably comprise the sides 5about three times as thick as the plates and having adjacent the bottoma suitable projection or support, such as 6, preferably so arranged asto engage only the extreme corner of the plate of celluloid or othersuit-' and hold it in position without coming into engagement with thebody of the plate so as to have undesirable contact therewith. The sideswhich are preferably located outside the lateral edges of the plates mayalso be formed adjacent the top with a suspending member or shoulder,such as 7, for en agement with the supporting shelf or ledge 2 of thetank which holds the plates and holders in proper relative position.These sides may be conveniently spaced apart by spacmg rods or members,such as 8, 9, preferably of considerable rigidity, such as metal rods ofbrass or the like, which ma Y be firmly secured as by being embedded inthe ends of the side members which may for this purpose be given extrawidth at these points oi connection, the ends of the rods preferablyprojecting into butnot completely through the side members.

The rods may if desired be coated or covered with suitable inertmaterial such as a coatin or sheath of celluloid'or celluloid varnis 1,for instance. The rods may be conveniently covered by slipping them intoa thin sheath or protecting tube such as it), of celluloid which may besufficiently heated to be forced into close engagement with the rod andmay be'tightly secured by pyroxylin cement to the celluloid sides of theframe so as to prevent any undesirable contact between the dcveloper andthe metal at this joint. By making the bottom ends of the side membersof tapering or wedge shaped form, such as shown at 11, they may be morereadily inserted into the tank and this is also facilitated by providingsimilar wedge shaped or tapered portions 12 at the top of the frames.The frames may thus be inserted or withdrawn from the tank and movedSill or pushed together therein very readily without danger ofdisturbing the plates it they are properly supported in the frames andthere is no substantial danger of locking or wedging the frames in thetanks 1, since the frames are preferably provided with cooperating sidemembers of sufficient width and vertical extent to give ample bearingsurface to space the plates apart under these conditions and also when.the frames are piled together or arranged in contact for draining orother L urposes. Frames adapted for use with p ates of about x12 inchsize may have sides which have a thickness of about three eighths orhalf an inch and a width or about threequarters of an inch or so whilethe extreme width at the top oi the side where the projecting suspendingshoulder is formed may be as much as an inch and a halt or so althoughit is oi course understood that these cooperating contact members neednot extend throughout the entire vertical extent of the sides in allcases. The thickness of the frames is or course preferably made ample soas to project at least an eighth or aquarter of an inch or so. beyondthe one or two plates which are intended to be supported centrally ineach frame, it being usually desirable to have the side members at leastseveral times as thick as the plates to be used.

The plates may be supported in the frames by any suitable holdingdevices, such as notches or pins and if desired projecting holding pinsmaybe used to definitely support one or more plates in approximatelycentral position in each of the frames and enable them to be readilyinserted or withdrawn therefrom. For this purpose suitable pins ofcelluloid or other inert material may be arranged to project from theinner faces of the side members and the lower holding pins 14: may withadvantage be arrangedan inch or'so above the supporting member 6 forplates of 10x12 inch size, for example. The sets of pins 15 which arearranged an inch or two above the lower-pins and the two upper pins 16,17 on each side member are arranged on either side of its central lineso as to cooperate with both sides of the plates 18 and the upper pinsmay be located about the same distance below the upper end of thesmallest plate which is to be used in connection with the frame. In thisway the plate is so supported that it" is practically impossible todisplace it accidentally except when the frame is turned upside down andyet when the plate is raised about an inch from the supports adjacentthe bottom of the frame its lower end may be readily swung out sidewiseot'er'the lower pins 14 so as to entirely release it from the holdingdevices since the two middle sets of pins are on the same side of theplate. The

mimic upper spacing rods serve as handles for insorting or withdrawingthe loaded frames from the various developing tanks and for handlingthem during the draining or drying operations. lhese spacing rods firmlysupport the tough and more or less flexible sides in proper relativeposition so that warping and distortion as well as accidental breakageis miiiimized. lhe width of the frames between the sides is preferablymade somewhat greater than the Width of the plates as shown in Fig. 1 sothat drainage and drying are thus promoted, the holding pins preferablyprojecting only slightly beyond the edges of the plates and the supportsfor the lower ends of the plates preferably only engaging the cornersfor this reason. F or this reason it is also desirable in some cases tohave the adjacent sides of the holding pins inclined with respect to theplates to be supported, and this may he eii ected by bending orinclining the projecting portions of the pins as by forming all the pinswith conical holding portions as shown in connection with the pins 19,20 in Fig. lwhich minimize theirlextent of contact with the plates. I

This invention has been described in connection with a number ofillustrative embodiments, forms, proportions, sizes, orrangements,materials and methods of con-v struction, to the details of whichdisclosure the invention is not of course tobe limited since What isclaimed as new and what is desired to be secured by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims.

it claiml. in photographic developing apparatus,

a movable developing tank having an oscillating axis above the normalliquid level therein and provided with a celluloid inner surfaceandsupporting shelves on the sides of the tank adjacent the top thereof,developing frames having \vide sides formed ofcelluloid provided withoutwardly projecting' suspending shoulders adjacent the top thereof tocoiiperate with said supporting shelves in the tank and provided withinwardly projecting supports for the plates adjacent the bottom of saidsides, metallic spacing rods having ends embedded in the enlarged topand bottom ends of said sides to rigidly fasten the members together, aprotecting covering of celluloid arranged over the exposed portion ofsaid rods and plate holding devices on the coiipernting inner faces ofsaid sides and comprising celluloid holding pins embedded in said sidesand arranged on both sides of the plate, there being separated holdingpins adjacent the bottom of the sides to promote convenientdisengagement of the plates.

2. In photographic developing apparatus, a movable developing tankprovided with supporting shelves on the sides of the tank adjacent thetop thereof, developing frames having wide sides formed of celluloidprovided with outwardly projecting suspending shoulders adjacent the topthereof to codperate with said supporting shelves in the tank-andprovided with inwardly projecting supports for the plates adjacent thebottom of said sides, metallic spacing rods having ends embedded in theenlarged top and bottom ends of said sides to rigidly fasten the memberstogether, a protecting covering of celluloid arranged overithe exposedportion of said rods and plate holding devices on the coiiperating innerfaces of said sides.

3. In photographic developing apparatus, a plate developing frame havingside members formed of wide strips of celluloid provided with outwardlyprojecting suspending shoulders adjacent the top thereof adapted tocoiiperate with supporting members and provided with inwardly projectingsupports for the plates adjacent the bottom of said side members,metallic spacing rods having ends embedded in the enlarged top andbottom ends .of said side members to rigidly fasten the frame memberstogether, a protecting tubular shield of celluloid arranged over theexposed iortion of each of said rods'and plate holding devices on thecoiiperating inner faces of said side members and comprising celluloidholding pins embedded in said side members and arranged on both sides ofthe center line of said side members to 006 erate with opposite faces ofthe plate, there ing separated holding pins adjacent the bottom of theside members to promote convenient disengagement of the late. P 4. Inphotographic developing apparatus, a plate developing frame having sidemembers formed of wide strips of celluloid provided with outwardlyprojecting suspending shoulders adjacent the top thereof adapted tocoiiperate with supporting members and provided with inwardly projectingsupports for the plates adjacent the bottom of said side members,metallic spacing rods having ends embedded in the enlarged top andbottom ends of said side members to rigidly fasten the frame memberstogether and plate holding devices on the codperating 1nner faces ofsaid side members and comprising celluloid holding pins embedded in saidside members and arranged on both sides of the center line of said sidemembers to cooperate with opposite'faces of the plate.

In photographic developing ap ar'atus, a plate developing frame havingsldiz members formed of wide strips of inert tough material providedwith outwardly projecting suspending members adjacent the top thereofadapted to cooperate with supporting shelves in tanks and provided within wardly projecting supports for the plates adjacent the bottom of saidmembers, metallic spacing rods secured to the enlarged top and bottomends of said sidemembers to rigidly fasten the frame members together,an inert protecting covering arranged over the exposed portion of eachof said rods and plate holding devices on the coiiperating faces of saidside members and comprising celluloid holding pins embedded in said sidemembers and arranged on both sides of the center line of said sidemembers to cooperate with opposite faces of the late, there beingholding ins adjacent the ttom of the side mem- IS to promote convenientdisengagement of the plate.

6. In hotographic developing ap aratus, a plate eveloping frame havingsidia members formed of wide strips of inert tough material providedwith outwardly projecting suspending members adjacent the top thereofadapted to coiiperate with supporting shelves in tanks and provided withinwardly projecting supports for the plates adjacent the bottom of saidside members, spacing rods secured to the top and bottom ends of saidside members to rigidly fasten the frame members together, an inertprotecting covering arranged over the exposed portion of each of saidrods and plate holding devices on the coiiperating faces of said sidemembers.

7. In photographic developing apparatus, a plate developing frame havingside members at least several times as thick as the plates to be usedtherein and formed of wide strips of inert tough material provided withoutwardly projecting suspending members adapted to coiiperate withsupporting shelves in tanks and provided with inwardly projectingsupports for the plates adjacent the bottom of said side members,spacing rods secured to the top and bottom ends of said side members torigidly fasten the frame members together and plate holding devices onthe coiiperating faces of said side members. I

8. In photographic developing apparatus, a plate developing framehavingsubstantla ly its entire exposed surface formed of celluloidmaterial and having both its lateral faces substantially flat adjacentthe sides of the frame, the upper and lower portions of said frame beingtapered inward from said lateral faces to promote separat- 1 ing wedgingaction, suspending members on the sides of the frame and plate holdingdevices on the frame to removably support a plate in position recessedwithin said lateral faces, said frame comprising side members andcoiiperating spacing members connecting said side members.

9. In photographic developing apparatus. a plate developing frame atleast several times as thick as the plates to be used therein and havingsubstantially its entire exposed surface formed of celluloid material mremovably support a plate in position to Elli cessed within said lateralfaces.

10. In photographic developing apparatus, a plate developing framehaving substantiallyits entire exposed surface formed of non-absorbentinert tough material and having both its lateral faces substantiallyflat adjacent the sides of the frame, the upper and lower portions ofsaid frame being tapered inward from said lateral faces to promoteseparating wedging action, suspending members on the sides of the frameand plate holding devices on the frame to removably support a plate inposition inside the plane of said lateral faces, said frame comprisingside members and coiiperating Ispacing members connecting said sidememers.

l1. ln photographic developing apparatus, a plate developingfframehaving substantially its entire exposed surface formed of nori-absorbentinert tough material and having both its lateral faces substantiallyflat adjacent the sides of the frame, the upper and lower portions ofsaid frame being tapered inward from said lateral faces to promoteseparating wedging action, suspending members on the sides of the frameand plate holding devices on the frame to removably support a plate inposition inside the plane ofsaid lateral faces, said frame comprisingside members and coiiperating spacing members connecting said sidemembers.

12. In photographic developing apparatus, a plate developing framehaving its exposed surface largely formed of non-absorbent inert toughmaterial and having wide side members at least several times as thick astheplates to be used and formed with lateral faces substantially fiatadjacent the sides of the frame, the upper and lower portions of saidframe being tapered inward from said lateral faces to promote separatingwedging action, suspending members on the sides of the frame and plateholding devices on the frame to removably support a plate in positioninside the plane of said lateral faces, said frame comprising metallicspacing members connecting said side members. x V

13. In photographic developing apparatus, a plate developingframe havingits exposed surface largely formed of non-absorbent inert tough materialand having wide side members at "least several times as thick inseam 70action, suspending members on the frame y and plate holding devices onthe frame to removably support a plate in position inside the plane ofsaid lateral faces, said frame comprising spacing members connectingsaid side members. 7

ll. ln photographic developing apparatus, a plate developin frame havingits eX- posed surface largely formed of non-absorb ent inert toughmaterial and having wide side members at least several times as-thick asthe plates to be used and formed with lateral faces substantially flatadjacent the sides of the frame, and plate holding devices on the frameto removably support a plate in position inside the plane of saidlateral faces.

l5. ln photographic developing apparatus, a plate developingframe'having its exposed surface largely formed of non-absorbentmaterial and having wide cooperating side members at least several timesas thick as the plates to be used and formed with lateral facessubstantially flat adjacent the sides of the frame to insure the spacingapart of the plates, the lower portions of said frame being taperedinward to promote separating wedging action, and plate holding deviceson the frame to removably support a plate in position inside the planeof said lateral faces.

16. In photographic developing apparatus, a plate developing framehaving Wide' coiiperating side members at least several times as thickas the plates to be used and formed with lateral faces substantiallyflat adjacent the sides of the frame to insure the spacing apart of theplates, and plate holding devices on the frame to removably support aplate in position inside the plane 01 said lateral faces.

17. In photographic developing apparatus, a plate developing framehaving cooperating side members at least several times as thick as theplates to'be used to insure the spacing apart of the plates and plateholding devices 'on the frame to removably support a plate in positioninside the plane of said lateral faces.

18. In photographic developing apparatus, a plate developing framecomprising wide side members located outside the lateral edges of theplates and at least several times as thick as the plates to be used toinsure the spacing apart of the plates from 12 each other, suspendingmembers on the frame and plate holding devices on the frame to removablysupport a plate in position inside the flat faces of said side members,said holding devices comprising pins projecting from the opposing innerfaces of said side members, the lower pins normally being adjacent thebottom of the plates to allow the lower part of the plate to be swunglaterally out of the frame when raised above said lower pins.

19. In photographic developing apparatus. a plate developing framecomprising wide side members located outside the lateral edges of theplates and at least several times as thick as the plates to be used toinsure the spacing apart of the plates from each other, and plateholding devices on the frame to removably support a plate in positioninside the flat faces of said side members, said holding devicescomprising pins projecting from the opposing inner faces of said sidemembers.

20. In photographic developing apparatus, a developing frame adapted tosupport a single plate and comprising cooperating wide side memberslocated beyond the lateral edges of the plates and at least severaltimes as thick as the plates to be used to insure the spacing apart ofthe plates from each other and plate holding devices on the frame toremovably support a plate in position inside the flat faces of said sidemembers. said holding devices comprising pins projecting from said sidemembers the lower pins normally being adjacent the bottom of the platesto allow the lower part of the plate to be swung laterally out of theframe when raised above said lower pins.

21. In photographic developing apparatus, adeveloping frame adapted tosupport a single plate and comprising cooperating wide members locatedbeyond the edges of the plates and at least several times as thick asthe plates to be used to insure the spacing apart of the plates fromeach other, and plate holding devices on the frame to removably supporta plate in position inside the flat faces of said side members, saidholding devices comprising pins projecting from said side members.

22. In photographic developing apparatus, a developing frame adapted tosupport a single plate and comprising cooperating members located beyondthe edges of the plates and at least several times as thick as theplates to be used to insure the spacing apart of the plates from eachother, and plate holding devices on the frame to removably support aplate in position inside the faces of said side members.

EUGENE \V. GALDWELL.

Witnesses:

l. GILSON, Mai-nos WHriE.

